C4T semester assigned summary for February

For the assigned semester blog, I received Angela Maiers' blog.

For the first assigned post, she discussed empowering students to take charge of their education by collaborating and discussion solutions to social/education problems.  

Of course, I didn't copy my reply and I cannot view it at this time (I think it is still awaiting moderation), but my reply was enthusiastic and communicated that I too feel that students will put more effort into something that the "own".  In allowing some freedom to critically think a problem through and offer up a real solution gives them a sense of responsibility that ensures their willingness to participate when their opinion is taken into account.

For the second post, she provided a self-awareness inventory checklist and asked what we though we could add to the list.

Reply:

Hi Angela,

I would say that my best trait is my love of learning, and that I struggle most with multi-tasking and organization.  My favorite learning environment is sitting in front of a lecturer, it helps me to retain information when someone explains it.  I help myself most by staying on a time schedule for studying and turning in assignments, and I would say procrastination is the thing that most impedes my learning.  I learn best by taking extensive notes and going over them frequently. I am interested in the biological world and transferring that knowledge to a younger generation.  My goals are to become a successful educator at the high school level and eventually in college as well.  

I would add the question, “What inspires you?” to the questionnaire, and I believe that self-reflection in any way would help with self awareness.

For the third week's assignment, the blog was about a list of activities for her students because the school was canceled due to snow days.  She is very enthusiastic about having assignments even though they could not meet face to face.

Reply:

I think these are great ideas for snow days!  We don’t really have many of those here in Alabama, but sometimes we have “freeze days”.  I can only imagine being out of school for an extended period of time, and it seems that twitter is a great tool for communication and forums when stuck inside with very little to do.

Fourth week's assignment:  Habitude of Perseverance.  Very inspiring, it talked about how Dr. Suess lived in his car for a very long time seeking publication for one of his early books, but never gave up. He persevered through the toughest of situations and ended up becoming very successful.

Reply:

Habitude of Perseverance.  Such strong words, and very inspiring considering the context.  If more educators (and people in general) practiced this, we wouldn’t have much to worry about, would we?  I think perseverance goes hand in hand with self esteem and belief in one’s life and path.  So many times we give up because the challenges seem to be overwhelming.  Students, no matter the age, all have something they are dealing with:  peer pressure, abuse, stress over grades, winning the big game, boyfriend/girlfriend dynamics and many other things impact these children.  Instilling perseverance no matter what challenges you may face will help these students to overcome and achieve things they thought were impossible.

I enjoy Angela's posts and look forward to what she has to offer throughout the semester.  She is enthusiastic and informative.